No Sugar Added Sweets: Banana-Chocolate Shake (Dairy Free!)

You know that jingle, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!”…? Well, that was literally me when I gave up sugar. Without my nightly bowl of ice cream, I dreamed of it for two weeks straight. It was the stuff nightmares are made of, truly.

Once I got through my sugar-crazy withdraw, the breakup with ice cream got easier, but it always held a nagging place in my heart. That is, until, the magical day that I discovered that the right combination of plants can morph into a creamy, thick, chocolatey shake. I mean, is there anything plants can’t do? With this shake recipe in hand, I’ve never had to look back. I’m sorry ice cream, but we are never, ever ever getting back together.

This recipe is proven by many a taste-tester. I’m home for Thanksgiving this week, and made it for the fam. Here are a few reactions…

My mom: “There’s no way those ingredients can really taste like this…”

My dad: “BLAH. *gags a little* You guys like this?! I feel like I’m on Candid Camera…”

….hey, you can’t win them all. But even he came around to it a few sips later.

A few things I discovered when making this shake…

#1 – Avocados have the ability to add an incredible creamy texture to a shake, without impacting the flavor. #2 – Freezing fruit is amazing. There’s no need to add ice to get that thick, cold shake. #3 – Spinach just seems to disappear. You really can’t taste it. Pack in those raw greens!

With those realizations, I’ve been able to adapt this recipe to hit so many different ice cream flavor cravings – cinnamon, pecan, strawberry, chocolate-peanut butter, just to name a few. But I’ll start with my ultimate favorite: a plant-based banana chocolate shake. As always, not a drop of added sugar!

Throw it all in a blender and whip it up. That's it! We're really mastering those cooking skills here...

Recipe Notes

A few quick notes! You can add more spinach if you'd like! It doesn't impact the flavor all too much, but it does start to give the shake a chalkier flavor. I say load it with whatever you can tolerate!

If you're getting into the plant-based game, I'd highly suggest getting a NutriBullet. It makes these shakes (and many of my other recipes so much easier). A blender can take some work - it might not be able to process all those frozen ingredients right off the bat.

I think these empty glasses say it all!

Kristie’s Gut Healing Comments: The meal ideas that I post align with what I consider to be a healthy plant-based diet, but they may not work for you just yet if you’re working on healing (from IBS, IBD, or other gut ailments). Here are my comments on where this food choice fit in my personal healing journey.

Once I had seen steady improvement with my gut health, I started working these shakes in rather early. It was such a good way to load up on a bunch of plant-based goodness in a single snack. I started by drinking very small amounts, like 1/8th of a glass. I wanted more so badly! But even that amount had my stomach churning a little. That said, per usual, I was able to build a tolerance for it quickly. Now I can slam the whole thing…and do often!

Hi! I just want to be sure it’s known that I don’t have medical or nutritional training. What I do have is an experience and many hours of research. I know what worked for me and hope it might work for someone else, but please always consult your doctor!